Advertisement
Israel-Gaza war
OpinionLetters

Letters | US support for Israel’s war in Gaza contradicts its own values

  • Readers discuss the desperate call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, a potential solution to inadequate mental health support in Hong Kong, ways to tell the Hong Kong story, and hospitality towards visitors

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
This picture released by the Israeli army on December 12 shows soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military operations are taking a terrible toll on civilians. Photo: Handout from Israeli Army via AFP
Letters
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification.
The world is aghast at the unrelenting weeks of siege warfare and indiscriminate Israeli bombing that killed thousands of people and hit hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza. Our Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) colleagues who continue to work in several hospitals in northern and southern Gaza and their families bear witness to the fact that there is no safe place today to survive the horrors of this conflict.
This is especially clear after the failure of the United Nations Security Council last week to adopt a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, blocked by a veto from the United States.
Advertisement
On Tuesday, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution in favour of a ceasefire, but decisions taken by the UN General Assembly, unlike those taken by the Security Council, are not legally binding.

Since 1989, MSF has been providing specialised medical care in the Gaza Strip with 300 staff in various locations. During the current conflict, MSF staff have supported four hospitals and run a stand-alone clinic in Gaza. We are witnessing a complete collapse of healthcare services in the area into which thousands have been forced, along with the rest of the healthcare system in the strip.

Advertisement

We are treating patients in southern Gaza with infected wounds infested with maggots, indicating weeks of neglect and misery. Attacks on hospitals where our MSF colleagues worked killed three doctors. Our colleagues were helpless when faced with newborns and adults in ICU dying as incubators and ventilators shut down because there was no electricity in medical facilities.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x